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Colin Silvester has spent 25 years working in IT, almost all of them in Japan. He moved to Tokyo after completing a placement there during his BSc in Computer Science from the University of Hull, and since landing his first IT role at Bloomberg in 1999, has held senior positions dealing with IT strategy and implementation at several organisations. 

One evening in October 2021, while working as Group CIO of a recruitment consultancy, Colin received a call from his Head of IT in Singapore informing him that the company had been targeted by a ransomware attack. 

It was an eye-opening experience: “At that point I realised, as the most senior board member responsible for IT and technology in the company, technically we were very well prepared; procedurally, we were underprepared. 

That's what got me on the path of cyber security. I did some quick, free courses, including one with IBM, and eventually I ran out of those. I was finding it really interesting, so I decided to double down.

After doing some research, Colin enrolled on the ������Ƶ’s MSc in Cyber Security, delivered through Coursera. He is currently halfway through the programme, with hopes of completing it by the end of 2025. 

So far, it’s given him an edge in his current role as General Manager of an IT services provider. “Obviously the topic I've chosen is related to my job, but it's so immediately relevant that I’ll walk into the office and be on a call with a customer, bringing up my notes from the night before,” he shares. “I've done that so many times.” 

But for students wishing to maintain high grades, Colin warns, the workload is not to be underestimated. “I would say it's very intense, but obviously it depends on how much you want to put into it and get out of it. 

I'm on an average score of 91%, so I've now set the bar and that's what I want to come out with. I got a first in my undergraduate degree as well. Whenever I put my mind to something, I just commit to it.

This means finding the time to fit his studies around his work and home life: “I get to work at 7:30am and I do an hour of study before everyone else turns up. I get home at about 8pm and do another hour of study at night. 

“At the weekends, I might do two hours on a Saturday morning and a couple more in the evening, then a couple of hours on Sunday. It varies between about 10 and 15 hours a week on top of my job.”

It’s a serious commitment, but Colin believes the hard work will pay dividends for his career. “I've had a very good and fortunate career in IT, but it moves on – and in my previous role as CIO, I was already struggling to keep up with the trends and the latest knowledge. I realised I could either go down the pure management route and basically elevate myself above the technology platform, or I would have to build up my technical skills. 

“As luck would have it, it was time for me to move on from that company anyway – but I’d already made the decision, in large part because of the cyber attack incident, that this was a field that was becoming increasingly prominent and I needed get myself a really credible qualification in it.”

“I'm hoping that this extends my longevity for another 10 or 15 years.”

Colin’s advice to prospective students is to “get ready for the workload. There's a lot of reading. If you're not determined, I would imagine it's easy to give up; but you've got to keep in perspective that you're not just doing a 10-week free course. This is a master's. 

“So, you’ve got to be determined and commit – but it will be so worthwhile.” 

Find out how you can boost your career with an MSc in Cyber Security from the ������Ƶ.